UCSD Will Open Student-Run Health Clinic In Tijuana

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Aired 4/1/11

To coincide with the meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University, UCSD said it will open a new student-run health clinic in Tijuana. Medical students from both the U.S. and Mexico will be involved.

TIJUANA, Mexico  To coincide with the meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University, UCSD said it will open a new student-run health clinic in Tijuana. Medical students from both the U.S. and Mexico will be involved.

UCSD medical students came up with the idea of the Tijuana clinic. School faculty will make the clinic part of new course. Students will learn about the challenges of providing care in Tijuana as they work alongside their Mexican counterparts.

And why doesn't an American community deserve these tax-supported services? There is certainly ample opportunity to 'work with under-served populations' in this country; we don't need to go international to accomplish the same opportunity. Unless, of course, this is an international relations opportunity and if that is the case, then federal, rather than state funds should be used.

As one of the university faculty behind this initiative, I can assure you that almost all the resources being used to support this clinic are donated. Additionally, there already IS an American community being supported by a similar program by UCSD, which is a student-run free clinic in San Diego. The San Diego clinic was part of the inspiration for the clinic in TJ. Finally, the San Diego-Tijuana border has a large shared community; the health problems in Tijuana (like HIV and TB) have a direct, tangible impact on health problems in San Diego.

sstrathdee, I'm glad to see additional facts on this new clinic. I wish that the article had included thes facts as it would have helped allay my stated concerns. While I'm not totally happy that the entire project isn't supported by donated funds, I do understand the need to control health issues such as you mentioned in the Tijuana community and appreciate the efforts of the UCSD community in doing so. Thank you for taking the time to address my concerns.